A cry rang out in the silence of the city’s alleyways, and Five jumped to her feet. A quic

A cry rang out in the silence of the city’s alleyways, and Five jumped to her feet. A quick glance confirmed that Six was still at her side, so the shout must have come from another child. She listened closer, and could hear the sound of bare feet sprinting down the cobblestone streets. The girls had been traveling safely under a cardboard box, but had stopped for a rest, and were now in danger of whatever was chasing the nearby child. Five motioned for Six to stay put, then creeped out to look around the corner of their hideout. The noise grew closer.She was just about to return to her companion’s side when a young boy flew down the alley, nearly running into a stone wall as he turned the corner to head in her direction. Without thinking, she waved her arms, hoping boy would notice her before she dashed back into the hideout and quickly pushed the cardboard box against the wall. Another sound was approaching now, heavier footsteps that grew louder with every second. The boy appeared in the small side-alley’s entrance, panting, desperately looking for a place to hide. Five shooed him under the box along with Six and herself, and the three waited. The thunderous steps grew louder, then died down as the creature ran past.For several long minutes, they waited. Once the noise had dissipated completely, Five whispered to the boy, “Are you alright?”“Y-yes,” he responded shakily.A light flickered on, illuminating the interior of the box. The boy was holding a flashlight. Like the girls, his shaggy hair covered the upper half of his face, and his clothes were worn and dirty. He appeared to be around Five’s age, though it was always hard to tell. “Who are you?” the boy asked. He was still trembling a bit, but he was making a valiant effort to keep his voice steady.“My name’s Five,” the older girl said, “And this is Six. Are you… did you escape from The Maw, too?”“Yeah,” he smiled. “I’m Seven.”Five helped Six to her feet, then peeked out a small hole in the side of the box to make sure the coast was clear. Seeing that it was, she raised her arms so that the box was lifted slightly off the ground. “We should keep moving,” she said. As she took a step forward, the box and the other children in it moved as well. Seven understood the girls’ strategy and quickly shut off his flashlight so he could help. Six was too short to reach the top of the box, but with Five and Seven carrying it together, their progress was much more substantial.“Where are you two going?” Seven asked as they walked.“The wall.”“The– what? Are you crazy?”“No,” Five huffed. “I know how to get there.”“Knowing how and being able to aren’t the same thing,” Seven pointed out. “Do you even have a plan for when you get to it?”“Go over it.”“What if you can’t climb it?”“We’ll make a ladder.”“What if you don’t have anything to build with?”“We’ll go under.”“What if you can’t go under?”“We’ll figure something out. It doesn’t matter. You can worry about that when we get there.”“Me? Who says I’m going with you?”“I do.”Six grabbed onto the tail of Five’s shirt. The older girl stopped, as did Seven, and they laid the box down gently. After a moment, a rat skittered by. The trio continued.“How’d you hear that?” Seven asked. Six didn’t respond.“She has good ears,” Five answered in her place. “If you don’t want to come with us, Seven, then fine. But you were clearly having some problems on your own.”This was partially a guess, but Five figured that anyone foolish enough to be noticed and subsequently chased had to have gotten into other trouble. Judging by the boy’s silence, she was correct.“Yeah,” he said quietly. “But there’s probably a better chance of getting caught if there’s three of us. I don’t wanna get killed by some monster.”“We’ll be fine. We made it this far, didn’t we?”“I guess so.”Seven went quiet. For a moment, the only sounds the children heard were footsteps on cold, rough ground and the occasional drop of water hitting the roof of the box. Somewhere in the distance, the being that had been chasing Seven gave up the hunt. -- source link

More pics about